Accidentally Yours
by Kojima Ayumi
Summary: Prequel to 'Silent Bells' by Yutaka chan. How Ran ended with Schuldich. shounenai. S X R, N X O gives peace sign to Tigermink One shot!


BIG thanks to Tigermink for the storyline.

* * *

"Bradley, I'm bored", Schuldich grumbled. Crawford shot him a glare and Schuldich groaned even more. "Oh come on! Think of something for me to do!" Schuldich was irritatingly rocking the table back and forth and Crawford cannot write properly. He tried his best to stay calm and collected until the telepath started pushing his buttons. 

"Schuldich! Get out of my office and play with Farfarello!" Crawford boomed, slamming down the pen. Schuldich eeped and got his hands off the table.

"But Farfie's busy with the blender! Nagi's at school, I got no one to play with!" He made fake weeping noises and stole a few pieces of Kleenex tissues and pretending to sneeze. Crawford obviously knew it was false and booted the redhead out of his office. "Bradley! Don't leave me outside!"

In the office Crawford was grumbling and getting furious at Schuldich who was singing a German song outside his door. The longer it got, the louder it became. The precog could not write if he had no concentration, and that irritating sicko outside just won't shut up.

"Rudern Sie Reihenreihe Ihr Boot, sanft das hinunter…aahhh!(1)", the telepath fell backwards when the door was pulled open. He stared upwards at Crawford who was glaring down at the telepath. Schuldich grinned and gave him a peace sign. He yelled out when Crawford gave him a hard kick into the hall. "Bradley's a meanie!" Schuldich imitated a kid. Crawford was starting to boil.

"Schuldich, stop bothering me or you'll spend the night in Farfarello's cellar with him", Crawford threatened. Schuldich pouted and got off the floor and his face looked more serious. He threw daggers at Crawford and the precog did the same.

"BRADLEY! Come one!" Crawford smacked his forehead. Schuldich has got to have discipline lessons…

Outside Schuldich stared at the closed door.

"Maybe I should go get the microphone…"

"SCHULDICH!"

"Go bother your Weiss kitten, but don't bother me!" Crawford yelled and shut the door.

111

Schuldich is now out on the streets and looking for the flower shop he used to visit so often to bother the assassins. Especially Ran. He just loves his face when he looks pissed. He's so cute you could pinch his cheeks. Apparently, that was impossible. After walking for ten minutes, he finally found the shop. He grinned to himself when he saw his kitten yelling at some girls who attempted to hug him.

Yoji was there too, doing what he does best; entertaining the girls. Through their thoughts, Ran was trying to get Yoji to help instead of just standing there letting the girls brood all over him. The little blue-eyed brat was also in school while the brunette was doing some deliveries. Perfect. Schuldich thought to himself.

He caught sight of Ran escaping to the back and he snuck past the shop to the back door. Ran was throwing out the trash and had not noticed that the telepath was watching. The bag was heavy, Schuldich could tell. Ran had dragged it out instead of carrying it though. Once he reached the bin, he took of the lid and hoisted the bag up.

Too heavy for him, Schuldich predicted. True enough, Ran did not have the strength to hold it high enough to put it inside the tall bin. The telepath heard Ran curse and attempted to get the bag into the trash bin. Schuldich heard he wanted to get Yoji to help. Schuldich frowned and came out from the shadows.

Ran noticed the orange hair and one word shot through his mind. "Schwarz!" Schuldich was hurt. Why not his name? There wasn't a big difference with 'Schwarz' and 'Schuldich', apart that his name has two syllabuses. "What do you want now?" Ran growled.

"Nothing. Just here to… buy flowers?" Schuldich replied. He stuffed his hands into his pocket which Ran thought he was about to take out his gun. "No, I don't have my gun with me."

"Stay out of my mind!" Ran roared. That attracted the attention of Yoji. Oh damn, I don't always get chances like this…

"See you later kätzchen", Schuldich smirked before leaving the alley. Just then Yoji appeared at the back.

"What happened? I heard you yell just now", Yoji said. Ran shook his head and brushed past Yoji to escape into the house.

111

"This is a solo mission. Thomas has created three other branches in which are in charge by one person. By killing of Thomas only will bring the rest to full alert and then neither of you will be able to break through. It has been randomly assigned. Ran, you shall take out Thomas. The rest of you, the information of the targets are stated. We shall start at midnight sharp."

111

Racing down the hall, Ran avoided going to areas with many guards. He was so close to getting rid of Thomas, but the one he encountered before was just a decoy. The real one was hiding somewhere on his level, but the building was a maze. Ran made a sharp turn at a corner when he heard a gun shot.

He only realized he was hit at his side seconds later. Before him, the real Thomas was trembling and holding the gun with both hands. Ran cursed and tied to ignore the pain as he charged up to the person. Thomas gave several shots again but Ran dodged all of them and ran his katana through him.

Mission was not over yet. He had to escape the building without being spotted. He held onto his side as he ran around the building in search of the exit. Fortunately, he managed to get out in time before the guards find the deceased body of their boss.

Ran started up his Porsche and drove away from the building. His breathing was starting to get heavy, and his vision started to get rather blur. He grasp tightly onto the steering wheel tightly as he cringed at the pain that got worse now. After all the running, it is not surprising that the bullet dug itself deeper into his flesh.

He let go of the steering wheel and the car screeched as it swerved. The lack of control caused the car to head straight for a tree. He tried to gain control but failed, finally succumbed to darkness with only a small memory of jade.

111

The sound of irritating ticking of the clock and the unpleasant stench of cigarette caused Ran to wake up from his sleep. "Don't smoke here Yoji you jerk…" Ran said with muffled words. He heard an unfamiliar voice laugh.

"I'm not Yoji, kätzchen. Don't get me mixed with that goof head." Upon hearing Schuldich's voice, Ran got from his sleep immediately and pushed himself to sitting position. From the sudden awakening, he started to feel dizzy again. "Hold your horses, I don't want you passing out on me again."

Ran felt a hand at the back and massaging his aching head while another hand was supporting his body to sit upright. It was quite relaxing until Ran remembered who was helping him. He lashed out an arm but Schuldich caught it.

"Let go", amethyst flared at jade but Schuldich just grinned. Ran tried to pry his arm out of the grasp when Schuldich brought his face so close to Ran's that their noses were almost touching. The more they stared at each other, Schuldich found out, the more flushed Ran got.

The assassin got startled when Schuldich laughed and backed off. "You should've seen your face. Redder than a tomato." Ran narrowed a glare at the Schwarz telepath, and Schuldich gave him a wide smile.

"Get out."

Schuldich held up a finger and swung it side to side in front of Ran. "Is that what you say to your savior? You need some discipline lessons, tsk, tsk." Ran glared even more at Schuldich.

"I didn't ask you to save me, further more my attitude is my way of life."

Schuldich frowned at the redhead on the bed and placed both hands on either side of the man. "I don't save anyone for free, Ran, namely you."

Ran knew Schuldich was serious now. He swallowed as the telepath closed in and claimed his lips.

Schuldich did not move, just remained his mouth closed over the frozen other. After staying in the same position which almost seemed eternity, Schuldich moved away from the dumbfounded redhead. It was a minute of realization before Ran blushed. Schuldich laughed out loud which earned him a glare from the smaller man.

"How about this? You be my boyfriend for six weeks. I promise you will eventually fall in love with me."

Ran glared at Schuldich.

"Then do you want me to tell the rest who saved you?" Ran bit his bottom lip. He was not going to be harassed in such way. "It's not harassment. More like…a threat?"

"Stay out of my thoughts and only a week!"

"That's way too short. Five."

"Two."

"Four."

"Three!" Ran yelled in frustration. Schuldich frowned but agreed on it.

"But that means I get to do whatever _I_ want", Schuldich whispered into Ran's ear. The redhead flushed and growled as he covered his ear. "That settles it then! Oh, and I'll be calling you kätzchen. What are you calling me?"

Ran tossed him fiery eyes. "How about carrot head?"

Schuldich gaze narrowed. "I'm not a vegetable."

"Of course not. You are vegetable."

"That does it! You're going dow…" but even before Schuldich finished he sensed the rest of Weiss entering from downstairs. "So much to do yet so little time…" He grumbled. He took a step forward to give a good-bye kiss to his kitten.

Ran felt himself burning of heat when soft lips were brought down to his own. He was surprised that the telepath was a rather good kisser despite his irritating attitude.

As the footsteps outside grew louder, Schuldich broke the kiss and went out the window. Ran was about to stop him from jumping as this was the second storey.

/What? Worried about me already/ Ran heard Schuldich in his mind. The redhead frowned and tried a counter.

/No, I'm more worried you squish the cat's at the alley because you're heavy/

/Yeah right. What are they? Your mom, dad and sis/

Big mistake. Schuldich felt Ran slip into deep silence. "Shit", He muttered and he walked down the streets back to his place.

/Look, that was no offence okay? I'm sorry/

/Don't be/

/Ok, I'll pick you at three tomorrow for our first date/

"Who said I was going out with you?" Ran blurted. The rest stared at the redhead in the room. The swordsman glared back at them and the rest left into their own rooms.

/Nein, nein, you're supposed to be MY boyfriend, so I get to do what I want. Three tomorrow! Ja/

After Schuldich slipped out, Ran felt like there was a missing feeling from his mind. He cursed and threw the covers over his head and forced himself to sleep.

111

It was the next day, and the three other assassins were wondering why the redhead looked so pissed the whole morning. Everyone was in the kitchen, eating lunch except for Ran who was upstairs still considering whether he should go. It was already half-past two, and he has only got thirty minutes to decide.

"Ran, Omi said if you're going out later, go do some grocery shopping. We're running out of it badly. I gotta meet the kids while Omi's at school and Yoji'll be out at a date at three. Bye!"

Even before Ran managed to say anything, the brunette was down the stairs and out of the house. "Shit…" He cursed and grabbed his towel and off to the bathroom he went.

It was ten to three and Ran was still in the bathroom, which in return, made Yoji impatient. The blonde practically slammed his fist against the door, complaining about him taking his own sweet time and himself going to be late. It was only after Yoji told him the time, when Ran burst out of the toilet only wrapped in a towel.

Yoji watched confusingly as the redhead sprint into his own room and closing the door shut.

"Weird bastard", he sighed and entered the bathroom.

111

"You're late", Schuldich said in an angry tone.

"Shut up. I didn't even say I was going out with you. Omi needs me to get groceries and that's what I'm outside for."

/Tsk tsk, trying to hide the real reason/

"Stay out of my head Schwarz!"

"What? My little kätzchen is angry at me?" Schuldich mused while snaking an arm around Ran's waist.

"Stop calling me that and don't touch me", Ran hissed and pried the arms loose to walk away. Schuldich frowned and purposely did the same as before, wrapping his arms tightly around the slim waist.

"You're not going anywhere", the telepath whispered. Ran flushed when he felt the hot breath on his ear. He could feel the man behind him smiling.

Ran growled and lashed his arm out while turning. Unexpectedly, Schuldich caught the wrist without moving from his place where he used his other free hand to hold onto Ran's side.

The redhead hissed when pain shot through him, followed by his legs giving way when Schuldich tripped him in a blink.

"Nasty aren't you? With a wound like yours still healing, you can wait a few weeks before being able to defeat me", Schuldich said and picked Ran up ignoring the protests of the assassin.

Once the telepath got the redhead to stand properly, he grabbed onto his hand and tangled his fingers with the pale ones, pulling Ran along. At first, Ran denied and tried pulling away, but the stronger hand clasped so tightly if he were to move them, it would hurt himself. In the end, he had no choice but to follow behind, with Schuldich grinning while leading the way.

111

After the long trips of running all over town, Schuldich and Ran took a seat at the fountain each with an ice-cream in hand (sounds familiar?) with Schuldich lapping greedily at the melting ice-cream and Ran silently eating it. Schuldich raised an eyebrow at the daze redhead and secretly pushed the ice-cream against Ran's nose.

Ran yelped when the cold liquid came in contact with his nose, followed by glaring at Schuldich who was laughing away.

"Well, you look real cute with ice-cream on!" Schuldich teased and flicked the ream off his nose. Ran scowled back at the German again and swatted the irritating hand away.

"Just how long are you going to keep me out here, stupid carrot?"

"Hm…probably until after dinner. Judging by the time, that's two hours away", Schuldich smirked.

Ran sniffed and finished his ice-cream licked his fingers clean.

"Whaoh, you really do have an attitude like a cat.", Schuldich smirked, watching the other redhead clean himself.

"Shut up."

Schuldich noticed some of the ice-cream on Ran and pointed to where it was. Ran stared in question and raised his hand to his cheek to clean, unfortunately getting the wrong side of his face.

"Not there", Schuldich laughed. "Here." The telepath leaned over and licked away the ice-cream from Ran's face and it felt like minutes until Schuldich moved back.

"Tasty."

The first thing Ran did was cover his face with his hand and looked away. Schuldich grinned and grabbed the swordsman's chin and turned his face to meet his.

The blush on his face was getting redder, already the color of his hair. Schuldich noticed the longer he stared, the redder the other got. All of a sudden the telepath burst into a hoard of laughter, hand slapping his knee.

"Wh-What's so funny?" Ran said angrily. Well, tried to say it angrily, at least.

Schuldich muffled his laughs in his hand and coughed and tried to stay calm. Ran glared at the telepath and Schuldich sighed.

"Nothing. You just looked really cute just now", he said, trying hard to refrain himself from laughing again.

"That was insulting", Ran growled under his breath, crossing his arms.

"No it wasn't. Saying you're cute is a fact."

_Three weeks. Endure for three weeks. _Ran kept repeating in his head.

111

Two days passed quickly, and Ran was now in schedule of going out with the Schwarz telepath once every two days as the Weiss assassin still had to do his shop shift. The shifts did irritate Schuldich a lot, since it would spend half his time away from Ran. The only advantage he got when Ran is busy was thinking of ways to get the redhead to fall in love with him.

So, by means of calculations… He would have eleven days to be with Ran. He sometimes scolded himself for agreeing to be with Ran for only three weeks! Day one passed, so now day 'two' is on…

The Isetan departmental store was crowded as it was being the weekend and as it was summer sale, more people were there shopping for their needs and wants. Schuldich forced Ran to go, since the only thing he noticed was Ran always wearing that hideous orange sweater. The only reason why he never told Ran into his face was because it was knitted by the dear sister of his.

Ran gave a really creepy growl when Schuldich showed him a silver sleeveless top which only reached slightly past his chest and totally exposing his naval.

"What? Nothing wrong about it!" Schuldich said simply.

"Are you out of your tiny mind? I'm NOT wearing that even if you're going to kill me!" Ran snapped and walked off.

Quickly dumping back the shirt on the shelf he raced towards Ran and grabbed his arm.

"You know you really ought to buy new clothes. I know you enjoy being in that sweater, but you can't possibly wear it all the time. I'll make it up to you. You choose the clothes, okay?"

Ran, without looking back at Schuldich, just nodded and Schuldich led him back to the clothes section.

"How about this white tee?" Schuldich sneered.

"It's sleeveless."

"What's wrong with sleeveless? Kinda fits you", Schuldich replied, placing the top on Ran's back, testing the size. "And I think XS fits you best."

Ran rolled his eyes and looked through the clothes.

"Then it's decided! I'll go look on the other side!" Schuldich called out and walked to the other end of the shop.

Actually for the redhead, there wasn't much to browse about. Apart from his orange sweat shirt and his assassin gear, the rest of his tops are white. He sighed and blindly searched the tops when a saleslady with long, dark brown hair like Ken's came and asked if he needed anything. He meant to shake his head but the saleslady had already taken out a dark blue top.

It had long sleeves which had a split right after the elbow, and the shirt's sides were also split from waist down. Ran was about to decline when the saleslady continued speaking, explaining to him that it was one of the latest designs and that it was sold faster than any of their other stocks, and that the one she was holding was the last one.

The more he saw the shirt, the more he came to have a liking for it.

"So, you like this one eh?" Schuldich asked, draping an arm over Ran's shoulder. Before Ran could respond, Schuldich had already accepted the top and was holding it together with the sleeveless white one.

"You don't have to butt into my business, Schuldich", Ran growled softly.

Schuldich looked over his shoulder. "But it is. We're doing your shopping today. Don't worry about the cost. Bradley's got them."

(Somewhere else…)

"Achoo!" Crawford sneezed and hurriedly plucked a tissue from the Kleenex box by his side.

"Mr. Crawford? Are you alright? Not sick are you?" Mayu, Crawford's personal secretary, asked.

The precog gave a light sneeze and dumped the tissue into the bin.

"I'm fine, thank you." /Someone must be thinking about me./

(Back to Schu and Ran)

"Lesse, we've got you two pairs of jeans and four tops. Not bad." Schuldich mused as he dangled two paper bags in from of Ran.

The other swiped the bags from his hands and muttered under his breath.

"Hm… I've got something to get, so be a good kätzchen and wait here kk?"

Ran watched as Schuldich hurriedly went off (with a normal speed) and disappeared into the crowd. He sighed and thought of the consequences if he decided to flee now. Nah, Schuldich could find him even if he were on the other end of the world.

He managed to get a seat by the escalator and he waited, pondering about the next few days of his life where he would be stuck with the German. He came to wonder why Schuldich liked him in the first place.

"I'm back!"

Ran jumped at the voice and turned up to look at Schuldich holding out a small packet.

"A little something for my kätzchen. No opening until you return home, okay?" Schuldich tweaked Ran's nose as if he were a child and placed the packet into Ran's pale hand then pick the paper bags up. "Let's go eat, shall we?"

"Hn…"

Schuldich watched as the redhead stuffed the packet into his back pocket and smiled. At least he didn't decline the present.

"So, watcha wanna eat?"

"…"

"Forget I asked…"

"Can't you read my mind?"

"Nah. If I'm going to gain your trust, I obviously need not read your mind. So, decided what to eat?"

"Terpenyaki, I suppose…"

"Ja, Terpenyaki it is then! I know a place where the food's great!" Schuldich held onto Ran's hand with a soft touch and lead him out of the departmental store.

111

Ran reached back home at about nine plus, since Schuldich insisted he had to be home early so he could sleep. He dumped the newly bought clothes into the wash, and since it only took half an hour to get it done, he stood beside the washing machine reading a book. Resting against the wall, he heard a split noise and remembering what was there, panicked.

He hurriedly pulled out the packet and noticed the cover was half-flattened. Giving a sigh of relief, he sniffed afterwards.

Why was he so concerned anyway? What Schuldich got him… Could be a bomb?

He frowned at the thought.

_Might as well open it than wondering what it is…_

Slowly, he flipped the cover open and gave a soft gasp at the content inside.

A choker which was made up of two dark blue, clothed lines and in the middle was a ring which held onto the choker and onto a pendant the shaped of a black cat. It was connected through a hole on its back as it was arched, the same way when a cat was to curl against your legs. Across it's neck was a red collar and the whole cat was outlined with a silver border and its whiskers were silver as well. If examined carefully, the eyes glinted purple, the same colour as his own.

He stared at the choker in his hands and pondered whether to put it on.

Omi chose to enter at that moment, in his hands a few clothing.

"Oh hi, Aya-kun. Did you wash the clothes alr-nice choker! Did you buy it?" Omi squealed as he looked into Ran's hand.

"Uh…No…"

Omi looked up and it caught him by surprise the usual cold Aya was now blushing a little.

"I see…" Omi snickered evilly. Ran snapped his head back at the blonde and gaped.

"Just what are you thinking?"

"Oh nothing", Omi whistled, rolling his few shirts into a small heap. "So, who gave it to you?"

"N…No one….", the redhead stammered, stuffing the choker into his pocket once again.

"Aya-kun, you may always be emotionless outside, but you're never good at lying", Omi sighed.

"You wouldn't want to know…"

"Come on! I won't tell anyone else!"

"Schuldich…"

"I guessed it! Nagi-kun told me Schuldich was going lovey-dovey these days because of--" He paused and amethyst eyes stared at him. Omi immediately clasped his hands over his mouth.

"Nagi-_kun_?"

"Oops, Nagi-kun's gonna kill me for saying it out…", Omi sweat-dropped.

"I'm going to kill you for having a relationship with him!" Ran growled.

"Hey! You're having a relationship with Schu!" Omi countered.

"That isn't official! How long were you with him?"

"Five months…."

A fine brow raised in question.

"Well, he ended up in the same lecture class as me, and we had the opposite goods and bads so we decided to help each other", the blonde whimpered.

Ran gave sigh and pulled out the choker.

"I don't know. He made a bet with me that in three weeks he would make me fall in love with him", he said, staring down at the cat choker.

"So… how many days passed?"

"Three…"

"How do you find him?"

"Un-Schwarz."

"Well, duh. They're not supposed to be enemies. You know what? From Nagi-kun I heard Schu's been wanting to get you ever since the first time he saw you!" Omi giggled and dumped the heap pf clothing on the shelf by the washing machine.

"…"

"From what I think, he's really serious. Give him a chance, Aya-kun. Who knows, maybe in the end you would turn out to like him!"

111

Ran thought about what Omi told him just now. He laid on his bed, the choker still in his hand. Bringing the choker above his face, he stared as the cat pendant swirled above him.

_Maybe it could work out after all…_

He gave a tiny smile and got up to sitting position and put on the choker. The pendant felt cold on his bare skin and he easily clicked the ends together, leaving it dangling over his chest.

"Aya-kun! Manx is here!"

111

"Schuldich, this is an order", Crawford said sternly.

"I don't care about SZ! I'm NOT going again Weiss, further more letting them have their hands on Ran", the telepath hissed.

"Estet placed this as main priority. We are to lure Weiss with Aya and place Ran as the sacrifice."

"Damnit", Schuldich cursed. He exited the mission and room and went to his room. Nagi watched as he left and heard the door slam shut.

"Crawford, do we really have to do it? You should know how much it'll affect Schuldich."

"It benefits both Schwarz and himself", Crawford said coldly and went out of the room.

Nagi silently left as well and stood outside Schuldich's door. He raised his hand to knock when he heard Schuldich said "Just open it."

As done, he opened the door to find Schuldich sitting at the edge of his bed.

"I know how you feel, Schu", he said softly, closing the door behind him.

"How would you know?" He snarled.

"I would react the same way if it was Omi."

Schuldich's head shot up at the brunette. "Omi? You mean that genki blonde kid?"

Nagi nodded as a reply.

Schuldich stared amazed.

"The only reason why you didn't know was because we were together for five months. We happen to be in the same lecture class."

Five months. FIVE friggin' months eh? Schuldich thought.

"Well, since you Omi, and I know Ran, whadda you say we plan up something?"

111

"They're using Aya-chan for what!" Ran roared, getting up from his seat.

Birman and Manx stayed relatively calm, with the female redhead replying him.

"Schwarz would be getting Aya to sacrifice to the Elders. That's the only info we've got, so we had put Aya under Kritiker's care."

"Where's Aya-chan now?"

"I cannot tell you, but I assure you she's safe."

"Damn you….", Ran hissed and clenched his fists.

The blonde beside the redhead furrowed his brows and secretly tugged at the hem of Ran's shirt, signaling him to calm down. Ran hissed again and propped himself back onto the couch.

"I'd suggest you four stay at the shop at all times. We'll take our leave now."

111

"I can't believe it… I thought I could trust Schuldich…" Ran said, burying his face into his hands. Omi locked the room's door and sat beside the redhead.

/Omi, Kätzchen! I suppose you received news from Kritiker about the Elders/

/Go away Schuldich/ Ran growled in his mind.

/Whoa…chill kätzchen, what's up with… Oh no. Ran! It's not what you think it is/

/Shut up and leave me alone/

/Look! It's not Aya-chan the Elders are after. They're after YOU. Not Aya-chan. That's why Birman and Manx said 'Aya' instead of 'Aya-chan'./

Ran thought for a moment, and Omi did so as well. Both turned to each other and Omi shrugged.

/In any way, Schuldich and I would be going to your place to play kidnap./ Nagi said. /We'll put Ran out, present him to Elders but ruin their ritual halfway through./

/Not a bad idea/ Omi thought happily, upon hearing his boyfriend speak.

/Hey, hey, no dirty thoughts now/ Schuldich teased.

"Schuldich!" Omi shouted out loud and blushed. He could feel on the other side Nagi gave him a good whack on his head.

/So, you guys are going to break in and kidnap me/

/Pretty much. I'll be gentle though, Kätzchen/ Schuldich snickered and slipped away a word 'tonight' echoing at the back of his mind.

"Seems like it. Let's just act then", Omi hopped off the bed happily. "Goodnight, Aya-kun!"

111

Ran glanced over at the clock. Ten minutes to midnight. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling, one hand fiddling with the new choker. Ken was probably watching soccer, Omi was doing his work and Yoji was in his room hopefully sleeping. They said they would come tonight, but they didn't state when. The only source of light in his room was a dim night-light. He could only see shadows if the area was beyond a meter from the light.

He gave a sudden sneeze and hitched.

"You okay, kätzchen?"

Ran snapped his eyes open, got up to sitting position and faced the bedroom window.

"Schu…"

"Finally decided to call me that eh?" Schuldich laughed softly at the sight of Ran blushing, even able to be seen in the dimness. He silently walked over and brushed his hand along the pale cheek. "Don't worry. It will last for three days max. I'll try to be at your side for as long as I can", the telepath whispered and leaned down, giving a peck to Ran's cheek.

"Looks like you've already put on the cat, eh?" Schuldich chuckled, thumbing the pendant. He sat on the bed in front of Ran, first staring at the pendant then at the redhead.

"Like it?"

Ran gave a small nod and reached up to the choker, brushing past Schuldich's hand.

"I love it a lot. Thank you", Ran whispered.

Schuldich wrapped his arms around Ran, holding him into a soft embrace.

"Don't worry. I'll get you out as soon as possible. Just promise me you'll hold on for me", Schuldich said through clenched teeth. After holding a while, he broke the embrace.

"After all, I still have to make you say something to accomplish my personal mission", he smirked.

Ran managed a tiny smile when a crash from below startled the both of them. Schuldich hurriedly turned to Ran.

"Here, eat this. It'll put you out for the days ahead, but I can still speak to you in your dreams. I don't want to use the hand-on-your-neck format to put you out", Schuldich said quickly and tossed a pill into his own mouth before kissing Ran, pushing the pill down into his throat.

"Schu…", Ran said worriedly.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine", Schuldich smiled before catching the unconscious redhead in his arms. "I swear to you."

The door crashed and Omi barged into the room with his darts in his hand. Schuldich returned a smirk and picked the redhead into his arms.

Omi mouthed a 'go' when Yoji appeared behind the smaller blonde.

"Nice to see you, Weiss. I've got what I've wanted, so it's time to take me leave. Let's hope Siberian had fun with Berserk", he grinned and took out his gun with one hand, holding Ran tightly with the other.

"Don't you think you can escape!" Yoji shouted and flung his wire out, but it was speed which counted and Schuldich avoided it easily. Omi threw a few darts of his own, making it miss on purpose, but Yoji didn't notice it.

"Be seeing you later", Schuldich shouted and jumped out the window, cocking and shooting his gun at them, but deliberately missing both blondes by inches before vanishing into the dark.

"Damn! Where's Ken when you need him?" Yoji cursed and sped down the stairs, Omi following behind.

/Not bad acting! But even if you were serious about hitting me, you would've missed/

Omi gave a silent snort. /I'm afraid I'll hit Aya-kun. Better take care of him or I'll get you/

"Ken-kun!" Omi shouted when he saw his teammate on the floor with a few cuts and bruises all over and a heavily cut lower arm.

"Damn psychopath", Ken mumbled, holding his injured hand. He had to get the when he blocked out Berserk's attack, and forgetting his mission gear wasn't on, got the long cut running across his arm.

"I'll help you patch it up", Omi said, running off to get the first aid.

"Where's Aya?" Ken asked.

Yoji looked away and Ken knew what it meant.

"Damn them! I'll kill them…"

"It was our fault. Manx and Birman couldn't tell us directly it was him Schwarz was after. They said Aya, not Aya-chan, and 'Kritiker's care' was referring to us. How blind we were."

Omi looked sadly and began cleaning Ken's wound.

"Let's find a way to get him out, then", Omi said.

111

Schuldich placed the passed-out redhead on his bed and sat beside him. Crawford entered his room and leaned against the wall.

"I have no reason against Weiss, but you know it isn't going to be a very good thing if you two are together."

"Really, Bradley? Could you tell that to Nagi-kins too?" Schuldich smirked.

The precog twitched. "You mean Nagi…"

"…is with Omi-kins!" The telepath finished for him.

"Nagi…", Crawford growled under his breath and went out of the room in search for the telekinetic brunette.

"Well, Ran. Here I come", Schuldich whispered and placed his forehead against the other's, letting darkness sweep over him.

He ended at a seaside scene, and found Ran sitting on the sand with his chest close to his legs. He was wearing the silver top that he had recently bought, along with a pair of white pants which was lighter than his skin color and finally the choker. The redhead had his eyes closed, enjoying a breeze. Even though it was just a dream, Schuldich could feel the wind brush through his hair.

The skies flew seagulls where some dived into the water to catch fish and others hovering in the skies, riding the winds. In the distance were some rocky edges which was perfect for fishing.

"Nice seaside you have", Schuldich said as he sat beside Ran.

Ran opened his eyes and turned to Schuldich.

"Where am I again?" Ran asked in a daze.

"Your dream world", Schuldich chuckled. "What you ever wanted would appear. Try it."

Ran took a while to digest what he said before nodding. He held out his hand and a large cup formed.

"A drink?" The telepath mused.

The next thing he knew, he was drenched in freezing cold water thrown by Ran.

"Oh man! Ran!" Schuldich yelled as he tried to reach out and grab the fleeing redhead. Ran chuckled and began running away from the telepath who was hot on his heels. "Come back here!"

They raced for a moment before Schuldich tackle the redhead to the ground.

"You are SO getting it!" Schuldich made a playful growl before he was once again splashed with cold water from above. "Argh!"

Ran finally gave in a laughed as he felt water trickle onto his face from Schuldich's wet hair.

"I'm going to get you next ti--"

Sploosh.

"Cut that out already!" Schuldich yelled, "You sure know how to torture other people, don't you?" Schuldich growled as he squeezed his hair from the water.

"I just wanted revenge for you making fun of me before."

"I did? I don't remember", Schuldich muttered as he continued squeezing his shirt dry.

Ran gave a soft smile and thought of something. Schuldich had a big question mark hanging over his head before his clothes were dry again.

"Danke", Schuldich smiled and pulled Ran up until both of them were standing. "I can't be in here too long or I'll be stuck in here forever, but I'll come as much as I can to accompany you", he said and placed a kiss on Ran's lips.

"Bradley's calling me now. I'll find you later, Kätzchen", Schuldich said.

Slowly, the image of Schuldich was swept away like sands on the beach were blown away by the wind.

For a moment there, Ran had a feeling like he missed the company of the telepath.

111

"So this is the plan. When the Elders start, Siberian and Balinese, you two go in when I shut of the power supply, got it?"

The two older assassins nodded and they split into two groups, Omi going off by himself. When he was out of sight from his two teammates, he quickened his pace and found Nagi waiting at the back entrance.

"Nagi-kun! Are the guards away?"

"They are. Crawford put the guards aside and let me be in charge of here. The ritual starts in ten minutes. We've got to hurry", Nagi said, grabbing and holding onto Omi's hand. The blonde returned the grip and Nagi teleported them out of the entrance and into the main power supply room.

He set up his mini laptop and connected the wires; the place was under his control for now.

Clicking his communicator by his ear, he heard Ken and Yoji had already got into the dome and was now dealing with some opponents.

"Guys, I see you. Head straight and turn at the left turn. From there, three guards will be heading your way. Finish them and go through the large door. You'll find Abyssinian there."

"Roger that", both of them replied and Omi glanced at Nagi. The telekinetic nodded and Omi jammed his finger down onto a key, which caused an instant black out.

He watched through the guy's views from a tiny camera on either persons, and from both points he could see Ken had his goggles on which provided night vision whereas Yoji had always had his shades on.

"Turn left!" Omi reminded and the both of them turned.

He shut the communicator off and turned to Nagi.

"Let's go."

The two teleported to the other entrance which lead into the dome, while Ken and Yoji were on the other side so they need not worry about being seen together.

"Don't get hurt", Omi said softly and leaned over, giving Nagi a quick kiss.

"You too. Be careful", Nagi whispered and gave the blonde a kiss of his own before Omi barged into the ritual, shouting for them to stop. The three old people stared in shock as Omi rushed in.

The Elders stood on the top of steps in the middle of the dome where there was a marble slab Ran was resting lying on.

Ken and Yoji entered the dome at the same time.

Omi threw his darts at the Elders but the darts were deflected by the force he was too familiar with. Nagi appeared at the other end of the dome and sent a wave towards the blonde. Omi dodged it and nearly gasped when he saw Yoji shot his wire at Nagi.

He felt a brush of wind go past his neck and he shifted to his front to face Schuldich.

"Hello Weiss Kitty", Schuldich smirked.

"Kill them! Schwarz!" He heard the Elders shout.

"Will do", Schuldich replied, shouting.

From the corner of his eyes he could see Ken was busy with Berserk and Yoji was VERY busy with a precog and telekinetic both attacking him.

"Balinese!" He shouted and threw five darts towards the three. Yoji avoided the darts and so did Oracle, but one grazed Nagi's sleeve and Omi swallowed.

/It's okay. He let it go on purpose. It didn't hit him anyway/ Schuldich said. /I'm coming/

Omi turned and choked when he felt an impact on his stomach.

/Oh dear. Nagi's going to kill me/

Omi hitched and went down to the ground.

"Bombay!" Omi heard from behind and Yoji raced up and flung his wire out at Schuldich, who dodged it in time by jumping away further away from the two Weiss assassin.

"We have to get Aya, Ken and I will hold them off, you try getting him!" Yoji said and as he rushed past Omi to get Schuldich.

Omi scrambled to his feet and charged up at the Elders and Nagi and Schuldich noticed it.

/What are you doing/

/Give me back up guys/ Omi yelled into his thought and dashed towards the middle, where Ran was laying there unconscious. The Elders howled at the presence of the intruder and one of them used his telekinetic force alike Nagi's to send the blonde stuttering blood onto the floor.

Anger washed over Nagi and sent a large wave towards the Elders. Lucky for him Balinese and Siberian were too distracted to notice it. The three Elders were swept off their feet by the sudden impact and fell of the steps, tumbling to the ground.

Omi spat the blood out and ran up to the unconscious redhead's side, vigorously shaking his leader up.

"Aya-kun! Wake up!" He half-shouted into the redhead's ear.

Ran stirred and winced at the bright light in the place before finally remembering where he was. He immediately got up from his place and scrambled off the marble slab.

"NO!"

Omi and Ran turned their attention to an Elders who had just had his guts pierced by Ken's razor sharp claws. Siberian shifted way from the dying body when the last surviving Elders roared with laughter.

"You won't survive!" Before any of the Schwarz or Weiss could react, he pushed a button against the dome's wall, activating something.

That moment, the floor crumbled like a broken biscuit, and everyone was trying hard to stay on their feet as the dome shattered to rubble.

Half of the dome crashed into the sea below together with half the members.

"Nagi!" Omi shouted. The telekinetic focused his energy on keeping both teams alive, but it was never easy since he had to protect eight people.

Schuldich managed to get to Ran's side and grabbed the smaller redhead as he led them to Nagi, in the process, Ran had not noticed the choker went loose and fell amongst the rubble.

When they were finally beside Omi and Nagi, Ran reached up to rub at his aching neck when he felt the choker missing, and began frantically searching the place for it.

"Ran? Ran, what's wrong?" Schuldich asked in a panicky voice.

He received no answer from the redhead who was scanning the whole room.

Ran finally caught sight of the pendant and made a dash for it.

Suddenly out of his grip, Schuldich yelled out as Ran broke his grip and sped off just like that.

"Ran!"

The redhead was still deaf to his calling, the only thing on his mind was getting the choker out.

Running up to Ran wasn't exactly one of the easy things. The dome was coming apart and the ceiling was starting to crack and fall. Miraculously it didn't fall on Ran until Schuldich reached him.

It was after Schuldich caught Ran did he feel a large boulder slam right down against his back.

Ran stared in horror as a large portion of the ceiling crashed down onto the telepath.

"Schuldich!"

111

Omi coughed out the salt water which had accidentally got into his lungs. Using all his strength to pull Nagi out of the waters, he glanced to the other end where Ken and Yoji were, still unconscious. Further down was Crawford calmly cleaning his glasses. After he was done, he walked over to the blonde and bent down.

Brushing a hand under the brunette's bangs, he gave a soft sigh.

"He's alright. He'll probably need days to sleep considering he used so much of his strength to keep us alive."

Omi nodded a thanks and got up from where he was, jerked when he felt someone roll against his legs. He looked down and saw Farfarello grinning scarily up at him. He jumped, avoiding on stepping onto the psychopath.

"Urm… are you okay?" Omi asked shakily.

"Demolishing hurts god…"

"Urm.. yeah. I'm going to look for Aya-kun and Schu", Omi said and ran off.

After running along the coastline for five minutes, he finally caught sight of the two redheads. Ran was coughing and beside him was Schuldich who was also choking on sea water.

"Oh my god, Schu, are you okay? That boulder, it fell on you… Please don't doe on me…"

Schuldich muttered something and Ran held Schuldich tightly.

"Gods, I'm so sorry. It was my fault…"

"Hm…I'm just glad you wanted to save the choker…" Schuldich mumbled with a smile.

"…Because of you…"

Schuldich managed to open an eye and stared up at Ran. The pain in hisback was hurting like shit but all was forgotten when he found Ran tearing.

"Hey, you're crying…" Schuldich mused, reaching up and brushing away a tear with his trembling hand. Ran reached up and held onto the other's hand.

"Onegai…don't die on me…" Ran sobbed.

"I haven't accomplished my mission yet anyway… but I guess I fail…" Schuldich cringed as the pain in his back got worst.

"You mean… that personal mission?"

"Ja…but I failed I suppose", Schuldich whispered as he shut his eyes.

"Schu, please, open your eyes… don't die on me…"

Ran squeezed Schuldich's hand tightly and shut his eyes.

"I…love you…so please…"

"Mmm… thanks… I love you too…"

Ran's eyes widened and saw Schuldich smirking tiredly back at him.

"So Nagi's trick did work…"

A trick.

SCHULDICH TRICKED HIM.

Angrily, Ran got up from where he was and stormed off.

"Whaoh? Ran! Wait up! I can't exactly move you know!" Schuldich yelled.

Ran growled under his breath and heard giggling noises behind him. He turned and found Omi with a hand clasped over his mouth.

"Oh...um… I'm sorry! Aya-kun! I didn't mean it!" Omi admitted.

"I've become the world's laughing stock…" Ran uttered.

"No really. Could you say that line again?"

Ran glared at them and walked over to Schuldich giving him a kick.

"OW! Did you have to do that?" Schuldich whined.

"Serves you right!" He turned and crossed his arms.

Schuldich struggled to get up and dug his pocket.

Reaching over hefixed the choker around his neck.

"But… you know I'll risk everything to protect you."

Ran gave no reply, just tracing his fingers along the pendant.

"I'm just glad you like the choker", Schuldich whispered.

"Hey guys! Manx is coming over to get us. Schwarz had better leave first!" Omi called out.

The other two redheads nodded and Schuldich laced his hand into Ran's.

"So, look's like I've won the bet in the record time!"

"Not so, Schu! On that day Nagi-kun asked me to be his boyfriend, I agreed right away!"

Schuldich rolled his eyes.

"How long were you two together anyway? Besides, I gave Ran a nice choker. What did Nagi get you?"

Omi pointed to his left ear. Instead of the usual silver ring, it was replaced with a dangling one with a small sapphire gem below.

"He beat you to it Schu!"

"No fair! I'm so going to win him next time!"

"Try! Nagi-kun's quicker than you!" Omi said and stuck out his tongue.

"Why you… If I weren't injured I'd get you for it!" Schuldich roared, swinging his fist.

Ran rolled his eyes and led Schuldich, following Omi who was still bickering with Schuldich, his now new boyfriend.

* * *

Ha ha. Finally done it! Lots of people were commenting about how cute the story 'Silent Bells' is. I find it cute too. :) 

(1)'Row row row your boat' song in German

Ha ha ha...


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